Lance Armstrong and the Future of Performance-Enhancing Drugs

Cyclist Lance
Armstrong's use of performance-enhancing drugs, such as
testosterone, the blood booster erythropoietin, cortisone, and more, was
recently called the "the most sophisticated, professionalized and
successful doping program that sport has ever seen" by the United
States Anti-Doping Association, the national organization for fighting doping
in Olympic sports. Armstrong dropped out of races throughout his career to
avoid being caught, according to testimony compiled by the USADA from some of
the cyclist's former teamates and associates.

Thanks to
new anti-doping technologies, many performance-enhancing, "designers
drugs" once in wide use can be detected by faster, more sensitive
technologies, World Anti-Doping
Agency Director General David Howman told CNN during the 2012 London
Olympics. Here's a look at the current state of doping —
up-and-coming technologies that boost performance or might do so one day, as
well as ways that authorities are working to spot use of banned treatments.

Gene doping
allows athletes to insert extra copies of certain genes into the body. In sport,
erythropoietin, or EPO, is the top gene target. EPO regulates the production of
red blood cells and increases oxygen carrying capacity. Because no drugs are
involved with gene therapy, it is now almost impossible to detect. Another
concern is that gene doping is most likely to occur in children. A drug version
of EPO was used by Armstrong to illegally enhance his
performance.

How it
works: Stem cells are extracted from the body and re-injected into an injured
area to help stimulate the growth of healthy tissue. In 2010, MLB pitcher
Bartolo Colon used stem-cell therapy on an injured arm and shoulder. Two years
later, he tested positive for human
growth hormone, a banned substance. Although the procedure
isn't thought to be related to the position drug test, there is
evidence to suggest that HGH makes stem-cell therapy more effective –
putting anti-doping organizations on high alert.

A New Test for HGH

For 30
years, no reliable test for HGH existed. Then, in 2011, a new test that detects
the use for HGH for up to 21 days was developed and endorsed by international
anti-doping officials. The new test is thought to be a vast improvement over
the previous "isoform" test, which was developed in 2004
and can only detect HGH used in the past 12 to 72
hours.

Imaginechina via AP Images

Anti-Doping Efforts and the ’Athlete Biological Passport’

As part of
an effort to detect the biological effects of doping – as opposed to
direct signs of doping, as shown through traditional blood and urine tests
– WADA
adopted a new system called the Athlete Biological Passport in 2009.
It's a blood test designed to measure normal blood activity for
athletes in different sports on a regular basis. The system is designed for
biological monitoring throughout an athlete's career, as opposed to
"spot checks" from blood or urine tests shortly before
competition. The system was used in the 2012 Olympics, where WADA conducted
more than 5,000 tests (an increase of 1,000 from the 2008 Beijing Olympics).

"The
fight against doping relies on several strategies, including the direct testing
of athletes as well as evidence gathered in the context of
non-analytical doping violations," WADA guidelines say.
"By combining these strategies, and seeking new ones to address
emerging threats, the global fight against doping is more
effective."

This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information: verify here.

Advertising Notice

This Site and third parties who place advertisements on this Site may collect and use information about
your visits to this Site and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of
interest to you. If you would like to obtain more information about these advertising practices and to make
choices about online behavioral advertising, please click here.